BLOG PROMPT #4

I am from Seoul, South Korea. I research about gentrification in my hometown, and I read several articles and studies. There are investigations and neighborhood changes as a gentrification process in Seoul. Gentrification is the restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by the middle class and commercial developers, often causing displacement of low income people. Seoul had a potential for gentrification in that the residential and commercial land values in the inner cities. Seoul has experienced the shift from an industrial city to a post-industrial city. Seoul still had a high dependence on a manufacturing instead of producer services. In the statistical analyses of gentrification in Seoul between 1990 and 2000, the strongest correlations existed between the gentrification index and independent variables representing post-industrial city status, rent gap, and institutional dimensions. Factor analysis revealed that post-industrial city status and rent gap factors were significant in explaining the changing regional structure of Seoul. Gentrification in Seoul has the same pattern as Western cities in that the rent gap and post-industrial city status theses are applicable to explain gentrification in Seoul, but there are differences of urban policy between Korea's local governments and Western countries' local governments in inducing gentrification to raise tax revenues. I think gentrification of East Austin is similar to other region’s gentrification. As many restaurants and amenities are built and people became interested in East Austin, the rent price rises. During the van tour, I could see what is happening in East Austin. I could see and understand what gentrification is and how it is ongoing, and how neighbors in the East Austin are living.